Deep Sea Heart
by EspadaFour
Summary: Orihime sees a deep water mermaid that she's never seen before. She is intrigued enough that she follows him. The Espada has her attention.


**HEART**

Orihime had always heard the stories when she was a young mermaid. Hollows, or deep water merpeople, never came near the surface. When spotted by the other species of merfolk, there were whispers.

You could tell a Hollow from the rest of the merpeople race. Their fins were ragged and sometimes torn. They looked slimy and pale. They often had some type of mutations; claws, extra eyes or arms, wing-like fins, an extra head, or horns. They all had holes somewhere on their bodies.

They were ferocious. They were fierce. They were proud.

All the warm water merfolk had been taught to avoid the Hollows at all costs.

They were no good.

They were ugly.

They weren't like the others.

You could tell the Shinigami merpeople from the Quincy; the Fullbringers from the Vizards. Everyone knew to avoid Humans. All the merfolk knew the story of Ariel and how she fell for the handsome prince.

Did Orihime listen to these stories?

Yes.

Did she follow the lesson the stories taught?

No.

The moment she saw that viridian green tail off in the distance she was entranced. Her eyes had only spotted that color on land. Most of her people had blue or purple tails that shifted as they moved, caused by the iridescent scales. Orihime was special. Her body was a mottled blue and purple. Her tail a shimmery aqua blue. She stood out because of her hair, copper as the sunset in the autumn.

She was at that age where it was time to settle down. It was time to think about a mate.

None of the merfolk around interested her.

Ichigo had run off with Grimmjow, only merging from the cave where they lived to buy food or the sea monsters who liked to think the merpeople colony was safe to attack.

Chad, while a kind, broad-shouldered merman lacked something that made him attractive to Orihime.

She liked Uryuu but he was a Quincy, and sometimes the Quincy were not nice.

Others had asked to court the young, beautiful mermaid. She declined, citing she would not give her heart to just anyone.

The Hollow was beautiful; a vibrant green with a darker shimmer that dotted his body. His long black hair shifted as he swam, flowing behind him as he moved away from the collection of coral caves and into deep water.

She decided to follow him.

**MOONLIGHT**

She lay in the round opening of her cave, watching as moonlight filtered through the water. If she went to the surface, Orihime was sure she would be able to see the stars in the sky along with that bright white moon. It was full tonight.

As she looked out into the open water, she saw a flash of green and black.

Oh.

He was on the move.

For weeks now she had been watching him as he swam on the outskirts of the community. He stood out among their race. The elders spoke about him.

Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra Cifer of the Espada.

Apparently, the Espada was some type of special Hollows, more vicious than the other deep-sea merpeople. Grimmjow was an Espada, and the most he did was cause havoc in the market when he didn't agree with something Ichigo said.

This Ulquiorra was beautiful. He had long black hair with delicate white horns separating the inky strands. Those hands that cut through the water were tinged with emerald scales and dark claws. There were raggedy sharp looking fins on the sides of his hips. The tail, though long and powerful, tapered down into a jagged spiked tail. The hole that all Hollows had was located right over where his heart would be.

The elders said this Espada was quiet, stoic. He exhibited almost no emotion, relying on impassive features and indifference. He was very different than other merfolk.

He intrigued Orihime. She was curious about him. She studied this merman diligently. Why did he hold himself like that? Why was he alone? She had seen how Grimmjow's friends came around, crowding around the blue-haired Hollow.

No one came around this Ulquiorra.

She pushed off of the rock and started swimming towards him. She was going to follow him. They swam through the moonlit water, Orihime struggling somewhat. She wasn't used to pushing her body like this.

This black-haired merman was lightning quick, so she had to use her tail to push through the water. After several miles, he stopped, floating several feet below the surface. Orihime's breath caught in her throat as his head turned just enough that she could make out one brilliant green eye.

Floundering, the copper-headed mermaid tried to reverse her direction, but it was too late. She had been spotted!

A snarl came out of his mouth and ripped through the water to reach her ears. Then he dove down into the blackness and was gone.

**CONFESSION**

The next time Orihime saw the Espada merman, fifty feet separated them. Orihime had been caught following him again. Instead of angry, he looked resigned this time. The Espada turned and started swimming away from the community of merpeople.

It seemed like he was using a lazy pace today. Orihime still had to push herself through the water as she trailed behind him. She could study him while they swam tonight.

The mermaid saw a long muscled line of the body, delicate fins and iridescent skin that shimmered whenever the moonlight caught it. His eyes looked blank as if he felt nothing. This made her frown.

They swam together for a while and finally, Ulquiorra stopped in the dark water. Orihime turned her head and didn't see the Merfolk village. They must have traveled far.

"It's raining," he said.

She turned back to him. Orihime watched as his green eyes drifted towards the surface, his tail slowly rippling. "How can you tell?" she asked.

He pointed up. "Vibrations. The water tastes different. If we were to surface you could feel it. I don't frighten you," he commented as if it were a fact.

"No."

"Why don't I frighten you?"

"You… I..." Orihime stopped speaking for a moment and bit her lip. With a graceful flick of her tail, she swam closer to him. "Because your silence speaks louder than words could ever. Your gaze holds mine. I've never seen a more beautiful merperson than you."

He scoffed and looked away from the mermaid. "I could kill you. I could yank your heart from your chest and leave you for the sharks to feed on."

"You won't."

Ulquiorra just glanced at her again.

"You won't hurt me," she said boldly, her hand reaching out to him. It floated in the water palm towards him, fingers splayed open. "But, if you want my heart, I'll give it freely to you."

The Espada looked at the hand before his sight landed on her face. "My heart is already in your hands."


End file.
